Sky-byte
Minor
Worst Luck Ever
Posts: 334
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Post by Sky-byte on Jul 22, 2007 23:52:58 GMT -5
So it seems that during Sky-byte's lunge for something to bite that the cluster of Autobots becamed, well, less clustered as they all separated into their own battles. Unable to see this, and quite unable to reverse this vector, Sky-byte finds himself half-way into the desert sand with a mouthful of grit.
Okay, okay, fine. Just leave the fish alone by himself on the battlefield. See what he cares!
Sky-byte wriggles a bit and eases himself fully beneath the black desert surface. It's quite a bit easier than trying to pass through concrete, thank goodness. You have no idea how much that scratches up one's finish. Radars fully activated, Sky-byte tries his best to detect any lone movement from above as he begins to move. Anyone up on the surface might notice a peak of black sand beginning to form wherever Sky-byte is traveling beneath.
Ah! There! His speed quickens until Sky-byte bursts from the sand, the ground spewing dust and sediment behind him like a spectacular fountain. An entrance to be proud of. So what has he locked onto? Ah, a red mech. He naturally assumes that this can be an Autobot as he hasn't seen or heard of this fellow yet.
"Ah you have met your match, Autobot!" he announces with ill concealed glee. Oh yes, run that mouth first before striking. With a rather toothy grin, Sky-byte charges towards the mech, mouth wide open again. The fact that he's on the edge of the mesa overlooking the dangerous laser-flower field has not yet occurred to him. He'll figure it out soon, he's a fast learner.
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Post by Perceptor on Jul 23, 2007 0:04:02 GMT -5
Alas for poor Sky-byte, his grand entrance is utterly lost on the red scientist he's locked his sights on. Perceptor is too busy pulling out a small, metal box from a hole in the ground, as intent upon it as a starving mech would be upon a full cube of energon.
Also alas for poor Sky-byte, had he simply attacked, rather than announced himself so dramatically - also lost on Perceptor - the air shark would likely have found himself with a rather satisfying mouthful of startled red Autobot scientist, so engrossed had Perceptor been on his prize.
The yelp that bursts from Perceptor as he is startled into looking up at that toothy maw of toothiness, is as undignified as the rolling scramble he throws himself into to dodge the charge. He almost rolls himself right off the opposite side of the road, catching himself at the last by jamming his hand into the hard-packed road. As close as he'd been to the verge of the grade, though, one of the sunflowers catches sight of his form as he rolls, firing off a quick blast of light that sears one black shoulder.
As he's suspected, his reprieve is officially over. Of course, now it remains to be seen - just how good are Sky-byte's air brakes? The sunflower's wrath is as swift as it is potent, and several of them had already been focused in this direction.
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Sky-byte
Minor
Worst Luck Ever
Posts: 334
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Post by Sky-byte on Jul 23, 2007 0:14:21 GMT -5
Sky-byte finds himself hurtling over the top of the cliff, immediately greeted by dozens of stinging, burning beams of light. If Perceptor's yelp is undignified, then the howls of surprise and pain coming from Sky-byte is just downright embarrassing. He makes a quick loop back and collides into and through the top of the mesa, leaving a gaping hole and a couple of smashed plants.
Not only was his entrance utterly wasted on that artless bot, but now his metallic hide is singed and stinging from those pesky blasts. Is he really that close to the power station?
Argh, he'd show that bot.
Zeroing back in on the mech above him, Sky-byte 'swims' threateningly through the ground. It's not sand anymore and it takes a lot more effort to go through. Probably making quite the ruckus as the sound travels back through to the opening he made. He circles back towards his target. 'Jaws' music would be oddly appropriate as he tunnels and forces his way forward, angling to burst out of the side of the mesa right beneath the Autobot if the red mech doesn't move.
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Post by Perceptor on Jul 23, 2007 14:04:01 GMT -5
Perceptor boggles briefly - quite briefly - at the shark that had just tried to snap him up before getting a first hand demonstration of the sunflower's capabilities. Optics rack Sky-byte as he dives into the ground, and what an interesting ability that is! Perceptor would be fascinated, except that he already has his hands full of puzzles that are far more important.
He's certain that the shark will be coming back around again for another attack, and so he takes what time he can to examine the prize he'd prized out of the ground.
Smallish metal box with wires firmly affixed in one side. A brief bit of manipulation, and the cover pops open, revealing dialed controls detailed with an unfamiliar language.
He is in the process of firing off a quick transmission across the Autobot broadband when the cacophonous rumble under him catches his attention again. It feels as if the land-swimming shark has returned for another stab at him. Can't he see that Perceptor is trying to concentrate here?
The box is dropped by the side of the hole it had been excavated from as Perceptor, with all the grace and aplomb that comes so naturally to a scientist of his caliber - which is to say, none at all - scrambles, rolls, and is bowled out of the way as the ground below him erupts.
It's safe to say that between the box and Sky-byte, that Hook's approach has gone unnoticed by the Autobot scientist.
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Sky-byte
Minor
Worst Luck Ever
Posts: 334
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Post by Sky-byte on Jul 23, 2007 14:18:33 GMT -5
How can anybody not be absolutely fascinated by Sky-byte? His alt-mode should have been a bird, just so he could preen.
He emerges from the ground, growling as he realizes how close he missed the red mech now known as Perceptor. The growl is cut off into a yelp of surprise as more of those infuriating lasers bite into his dorsal side. Sky-byte abruptly transforms and plasters himself against the side of the mesa in a most undignified way a few meters away from the Autobot. The shark smells a bit of charred metal and rock dust.
So he's to distract and not harm too much? That's fine by Sky-byte, the only person he wishes bodily harm to is a certain Aerial Commander (whether or not anyone would believe him after all of these attacks is another thing). A screeching whir is added to the sounds of the battlefield as he starts up his Anchor Arm and brings it smashing down to where the other mech should be.
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Post by Perceptor on Jul 23, 2007 14:52:42 GMT -5
Well, so much for his offer to assist Wedge and Synapse. Something tells Perceptor that he's going to have his hands a bit too full now to be able to pop off a shot at the other Autobot's attacker anytime soon.
Even as Sky-byte is scrambling for cover from the sunflowers, Perceptor is crab-crawling backwards - grace and aplomb, remember - from the shattered roadway where the shark had erupted from. The control box! He needs to draw the shark away from the control box before the oaf damages it! Which means, of course, that until Perceptor does so, he cannot even return fire on Sky-byte, without risking bringing half the mesa side down onto the exposed box and its components.
"Gah!"
Yes, that was dignified. So was the sprawl Perceptor threw himself into as he dodged further down the roadway away from Sky-byte and his spinning Anchor Arm.
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Sky-byte
Minor
Worst Luck Ever
Posts: 334
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Post by Sky-byte on Jul 23, 2007 15:05:21 GMT -5
Sky-byte would protest greatly at being called an oaf. He is no such thing! He is an artist who delights in great works of poetry and long beautiful swims in Earth's oceans. Okay, okay, enough with the waxing artist in him, he has work to do!
So Hook and Fleetwind both know this Perceptor. Hook and Fleetwind seem to be from the same 'universe' that Starscream is from. That means Perceptor should be as well.
"So, Perceptor. What can you tell me about a certain Starscream?" he glees as he transforms and sets right after the red mech, keeping close to the side of the mesa. Snip snap after the Autobot, how long can the other keep up this little chase?
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Post by Hook on Jul 23, 2007 15:43:17 GMT -5
While Sky-Byte plays with Perceptor, Hook touches down at the head of the black road. Now where did Perceptor drop that object-?
The crane crouches next to the excavated hole and picks up the tiny box. Carefully labelled dials in a language he didn't understand. Wires leading from the box to a point in the ground. Yet Perceptor seemed to think it was important.
He glanced up at the rim of the mesa just above him, then back down the road behind him. Oh yes. Place the off button at the only arrival point to the facility.
Gently, he touches a fingertip against a dial and spins it as far as it will go.
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Post by SceneMod on Jul 23, 2007 16:13:31 GMT -5
At first, nothing. Then, as the dial goes up and up, there's a... change in the air. It takes a moment for this change to be processed on the conscious level: it's a humming, incredibly low pitched, covering several frequencies at once. It appears to be emanating from the power plant itself. And it's getting louder...
As the strange humming increases, the flowers... calm. Their firing at the jets flying overhead becomes less and less frantic. And then, when the sound reaches its crescendo, they stop all together, still and harmless as ordinary plants for as long as the strange noise continues.
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Post by Perceptor on Jul 23, 2007 16:59:29 GMT -5
Hook!
Perceptor's attention is drawn away from Sky-byte as he watches Hook stoop to retrieve the little box that Perceptor had been forced to drop. He cannot allow Hook access to that facility! Perceptor's jaw clenches as determination fills his expression.
"Starscream? I can reliably assure you that at my next opportunity, I plan on demonstrating the full spectrum of my offensive capabilities against him," Perceptor explains calmly. He's got some reckoning to do with Starscream in the name of a few of his friends that the Air Commander assisted into death.
He also now has a concussion rifle in his hands, and isn't retreating anymore as he stares up the slope of the road at Sky-byte and Hook. Grim satisfaction flickers across his features as the distinctive roar of a certain Guardian's rocket begins to wash over them.
The worm has turned, and he's packing artillery. Perceptor levels his rifle and pulls the trigger. He can dig the control box back out later, if need be.
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Sky-byte
Minor
Worst Luck Ever
Posts: 334
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Post by Sky-byte on Jul 23, 2007 19:54:08 GMT -5
Ah, so there are others who have their own bones to pick with with Starscream. "Well, I won't get in the way of such a display if you wish." he grins.
That grin is quickly wiped off his face as a rifle is leveled in his direction. His expression turns into fear and surprise as a hum thrums through the air and is quickly followed by a loud rumble of smoke and fire.
// That's Omega Supreme?! //
If that's a Transformer, Sky-byte guesses that it will be about a third of Fortress Maximus's supposed height. But even a third of Fortress Maximus is something rather terrifying to deal with. If the Autobots have this sort of firepower and strength, perhaps he's better off slinking away and living off the land...if the others don't catch him first.
But now he has to deal with this Perceptor and the bolt that's flying out of the red mech's rifle. Sky-byte falls to the side, avoiding said shot. He fails to remember that Hook just might be somewhere in the vicinity behind him.
Oh well, if the bolt is anywhere near Hook, he can dodge too. After all, he is a Decepticon.
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Post by Hook on Jul 23, 2007 20:26:16 GMT -5
Since no one had immediately leaped up to hold the position Hook wants held, he had turned his attention to the control box. He turns it over, studying the seams of the box. Perhaps-
A shot is fired behind him, and Hook whirls towards the sound of it-
Just in time for a blast of energy to strike his lower leg, just above the cab of his crane-mode. White metal blackens, smashes inward in a beautiful crater. Behind it, circuits and wires are mashed together and gears grind out of track as they're forced in deeper. Hook yelps in pain.
Stupid! He'd assumed someone would stand to protect him when none of his gestalt-mates were here! Stupid, stupid, stupid!
"SKY-BYTE! Keep Perceptor occupied!" He roars. His voice doesn't carry as well as Starscream's does, but Sky-Byte isn't that far away from him. "Before Omega Supreme notices- us!"
Was that just a slight pause before Hook said 'us'?
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Post by Perceptor on Jul 23, 2007 20:50:51 GMT -5
"Decepticon solidarity is a constant across the realities, I see," Perceptor observes wryly. He doesn't miss the instant of hesitation in Hook's order.
Perceptor's optics narrow, and distantly, he notes the lack of blasts coming from the field of sunflowers above them. The Decepticons not only control the sunflowers now, but since several of their number are flight capable, they are in a far better position to make an attempt on the facility. He needs to regain control of that box!
Sky-bite had dodged upward, toward the top of the mesa, giving some clearance to where Hook stood, still smoking and damaged, with the box in his hands. Perceptor fires another shot in the shark's direction, trying to drive him off before he has a chance to obey Hook, even as he charges forward at the Constructicon.
Perceptor is well aware that his skills in melee combat are... lacking, but he must gain control of that box!
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Sky-byte
Minor
Worst Luck Ever
Posts: 334
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Post by Sky-byte on Jul 23, 2007 21:05:11 GMT -5
"How many times do I have to keep telling people?! Predacon! Predacon! I'm obviously much better looking than these chaps, aren't I?" groans Sky-byte. "Alright alright, run distraction..."
He attempts to dodge Perceptor's next shot and howls as it hits square on with his tail as Sky-byte tries to get back to Hook.
"He's probably preoccupied with all of the other battles going on. What? Bad blood between the two of you?" Cause he knows that the huge bot shouldn't have anything against Sky-byte personally, he's never met the giant!
As Perceptor charges forward, Sky-byte moves in to intercept again. "Sorry, I've got my orders. I'd rather not have my head blasted off any time soon. Unless you have other alternatives."
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Post by Hook on Jul 23, 2007 21:25:48 GMT -5
Ah, excellent. Sky-Byte is a useful, if somewhat bizarre, Decepticon. Hook might even humor his little 'Predacon' issue in the future.
For now, however, the Constructicon removes a scalpel from subspace, slides it into the back of the box, and slices room for him to insert a finger. Once that is done, he rips off the back of the box in a tear of metal.
He studies the wires, ignoring the crawl of fear down his crane-arm. Omega Supreme could spot him at any moment.
That was one of the unfortunate side-effects of being bright green.
There. Those two were the ones the dial connected together. Hook trades out his scalpel for a soldering iron and solders the wires together. No spinning the dial to change the setting anymore!
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